Throw a stocking-making party
By SUSAN HALLER for Smart
So you’ve been dying to get together with a few girlfriends for weeks, but amid shopping, baking, wrapping, cleaning, decorating and stressing out, you just haven’t had time.
How about setting aside a night to make some homemade gifts, gab with friends and enjoy some of those cookies you’ve been laboring over?
Come on. Just one night. It’ll be fun, we promise.
Here’s what you need to do
Call three or four friends. Tell them you’re going to make some stockings — don’t worry, nothing too fancy.
Have each of them bring a pair of scissors, a plain stocking from a craft store (if they don’t want to make their own), a decoration to share (check out our list above for ideas) and a snack for everyone to nibble on. Oh yeah, and some creativity.
You’ll provide a big table for everyone to gather round, maybe some drinks (here are some cocktail ideas), and enough thread, scissors, chalk, felt and glue for each of your friends to make her own stocking.
You and your friends can either decorate the prefab stocking, or sew up one on your own, and personalize it. Use classic Christmas colors and decorations, or be funky and mix up the colors and styles.
At the end of the night, you’ll have one whole gift (or a couple if you’re feeling ambitious) and that warm, giggly feeling you get after hanging out with friends.
Basic supplies
• Fabric glue
• Several yards of felt in a variety of colors
• Cotton thread/embroidery floss in a variety of colors
• Scissors
• Pins
Decorations
• Glitter glue
• Ribbon
• Miniature charms/ornaments
• Sequins
• Beads
• Buttons
• Bells
• Fabric paint
• Pompoms
• Lace
• Rickrack
• Gemstones
• Faux fur remnants
• Fabric remnants
• Confetti
• Stocking template
Making the stocking
1. Print out the stocking template.
2. Pin template to two pieces of felt stacked on each other, leaving some extra felt around the edge to cut around.
3. Cut out the felt around the template, leaving a ¼-inch border.
4. Using cotton thread or embroidery floss, sew the two halves of the stocking together, using a basic running stitch. Make sure to leave an opening at the top (you know, where the presents go). Don’t be afraid to use contrasting thread to give the stocking a more modern look.
5. Decorate! Try writing a name or holiday greeting in glitter glue to personalize it. Create a faux cuff using buttons. Add pompoms to the toes. Glue on different colored ribbon for a striped look. Use your imagination and have fun with it.
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